The gaming industry is constantly exploring new and emerging technologies to improve quality, diversity and sophistication of gaming options offered to the casino patrons, without detracting from patrons' gaming experience. More specifically, gaming machines capable of presenting multiple games at the same gaming machine have been developed. Since video games can differ substantially in their mode of operation from game to game, it may not always be possible to use the same set of electromechanical control buttons to control different games. Accordingly, it is possible to have a plurality of buttons or buttons with specialized functions that are not used in all the games, which may lead to player confusion and/or reduce the player's desire to gamble on the gaming machine. As a result, gaming machines presenting two or more games use touch screen technology to minimize the number of used electromechanical buttons.
However, it has been found that the display of virtual interfaces on the video display may significantly slow play and inconvenience players in certain circumstances. For example, casino patrons playing gaming machines having a touch screen system for vertically-positioned video displays may become fatigued over prolonged period of gaming because the players need to repeatedly lift their arms during game play and do not have a surface to rest their arms and/or hands on the gaming machine. Accordingly, there remains a need for gaming machines having versatile and easy-to-use virtual interfaces that support large variety of gaming options.